Wingo went into his home, his wooden home was erected at the base of the mountain Taygetus about 20 miles off from the borders of Sparta. It was a finely made home, however it lacked a bed, he packed with him necessities for his travel. He then picked up his kopis and placed it on his hilt, he knew the path ahead will be difficult to trek, knowing mountain bandits and ipotanes plague the mountains.
He went to the stables beside his home, the smell of horse dung made him remember the days when he began being a stable boy, for a man believed to be the child of Apollo only worked as a caretaker of horses, however women both young and old, virgins and widows are fond of him because of his godly looks; his hair was naturally curled and blonde, his physique even matched the build of Heracles, and is naturally talented in playing the lyre in which was the reason why he was believed to be the child of Apollo. As he was about to take off with the horse a loud crackling of the thunder was heard, it seemed as if someone has angered the god who sits on the throne of Olympus.
Wingo sets off on his journey to Kyprus, he first trekked to Spartacus to ride a ship towards Crete then onwards to Kyprus, the trek on land once again to Paphia where Leon was said to reside. A mile before entering Spartacus a group of hungry beggars surrounded Wingo to beg for the food and water he had.
“Halt!” A tall but pale looking man blocked the pathway while pointing his wooden spear towards him “hand over that bag of beans and we will let you pass”
“What if I share half of the beans to you, will that be enough?” He replied
“Gladly, kind sir” the tall man pulled back the spear and took his rugged looking pouch, Wingo grabbed a part of the beans in his bag then placed it inside the tall man’s pouch.
They let Wingo pass immediately right after they received what they needed, as he was leaving he hears a muffled groan behind him. Then an arrow was badly shot towards Wingo, missing him by an inch. He immediately unsheathed his kopis and shifted the horse facing the direction of the sound.
“Malucc, your bad aim is the main reason why we fail these attacks” A man with a barbaric physique came out of the forest, while carrying a rusty sword “lucky for you I am here to finish your lousy aim”
The man swung his sword towards Wingo but he was able to parry the attack, pushing the barbarian back from his attack. Malucc immediately withdrew another arrow from his quiver and aimed directly at Wingo’s horse, as he was about to shoot the arrow Wingo charged towards Malucc and swung his kopis directly to his neck. Malucc was able to react and dodge the swing but he was still slashed on his right shoulder, then blood sprung out of his right shoulder.
Malucc groaned in pain as he rolled away Wingo’s charge. The barbarian once again swung his sword to Wingo but this time towards the horse, Wingo jumped off the horse and rushed towards the barbarian and blocked his attack.
“Vyn I got this” Malucc took out his dagger and rushed towards the back of Wingo and stab him where the heart rests.
Wingo pushed Vyn back and sidestepped away from the direction of Malucc’s attack, but Malucc instantly shifted his attack towards Wingo’s direction. Wingo once again crouched but this time ready to stab Malucc on the stomach, Malucc could not see the oncoming attack because he was focused on killing the blonde man, who almost tore off his right arm. Vyn was able to balance himself from the push but he was too late to save his ally from being stabbed, Wingo pushed his kopis directly to Malucc and removed it by slicing apart his liver.
Seeing this tragic moment, Vyn was enraged and cursed Ares for not granting Malucc the power to have a powerful eyesight, after sacrificing hundreds of humans for him to grant his wish.
Vyn charged towards Wingo attempting to tackle him and bash his head to the ground but alas Wingo grabbed the dagger that Malucc had and threw it to the head of the charging barbarian and in an instant Vyn was hit and stumbled down and died.
Wingo packed up his things once again and sheathed his kopis, he burnt the bodies of the dead beggars and barbarians. Wingo whistled to call out his horse and continued back on his way to Sparta.
Wingo reached Spartacus and was welcomed with women flocking towards him, trying to catch his gaze. He wandered directly to the port to hitch a ride with the merchants towards Crete, the merchants hesitated to accept his request but he came prepared with ten pieces of drachma.
“Are you a person of nobility, sir?” A merchant asked him wondering why such a man would pay such an amount while wearing a rugged tunic with a rip on the chest-line of the tunic exposing his chest
“You clearly do not look like one” said another merchant as he was loading his materials for trade
“I am just a stable boy who has saved these coins through hard work kind sirs” Wingo replied as he handed out the coins and pulled the lead of the horse towards the entrance of the merchant ship
“We will allow you to ride with us to Crete if you tend to our horses as well, one of our horses seems to be too fatigued but I cannot attend to her because I will be with the other merchants to talk about our trade” the merchant replied
“If it is what you wish sir” Wingo was then allowed to enter the ship and was guided by a helper towards the area where the merchants rest their horses and caravan. He helped unravel the ropes that held the ship from the seaside and thereafter tended to the horses of the merchants.
The ship sailed to Crete for two days, reaching to the docks of Candia. Before the merchants allowed Wingo to set off from the ship, they gifted him five pieces of drachma and two loaves of bread it was their appreciation for tending to their horses while they were busy talking about their trade for two days. Wingo accepted their gift and left to ride another ship to Kyprus.
Wingo hitched on another merchant ship that was about sail to the port of Kyprus, this time he was assigned to be one of the ship’s crew while tending to the horses in the ship. The ship sailed for almost four days, they were lucky enough to sail without the interference by Poseidon. They reached to the port of Kyprus before Erebus plagued the skies. The merchants of the ship prayed to Poseidon, thanking them for allowing them to reach Kyprus without being hit by strong winds and waves.
Wingo took off with his horse and rode towards Paphia, or what was called the Sanctuary of Aphrodite, he passed through numerous people who did not speak Greek and who spoke in it, others who looked different some had the skin as black as the night skies and others as pale as the flesh of Athena. Many who went to Paphia were fervent followers of the goddess of beauty, they went to pray and worship her beauty, yet some came for erotic fantasies and went to brothels wasting their accounts throughout the night.
“The sophisticated stable boy has finally arrived to my domain” a man with the guttural voice approached Wingo as he was stepping down from his horse. Wingo sighed as he heard the voice, the man who requested his presence.
“It is good to hear you are well, Leon” Wingo lifted his hand to attempt for a handshake but Leon shrugged it off and embraced him instead
“You look well, I presume” Wingo pushed him back from his embrace and gazed at Leon intently
“Ah, that look on your face. It seems like you want to know why you are called by me” Wingo nodded in reply
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Follow me to my home, there I will tell you”
Wingo followed Leon to his home while pulling the lead of his horse. They passed numerous homes that were made of stone, and some looked as if their homes were made by Hephaestus because of how natural looking their homes were, others having homes had the size of a titan’s hand.
They walked for half a mile, Leon’s home was on the outskirts of Paphia; it was surrounded with different kinds of fruit trees there were olive trees and apple trees but the tallest of the trees was an oak tree that was about 15 feet tall, his house was covered in vines and different flowers that gave color to his home it also looked as if he had a dirt house.
“Leon, you really should leave this place and stay in Athens” Wingo had been telling Leon about how bad his area is, at nights his home would be haunted by araes because of his horrid past torturing the innocent as he was commanded while he served as an executioner in Thessaly.
“You still believe that the gods will be able to take my life because of the people I murdered?” Leon had heard that question ever since he told Wingo about himself, he appreciates the concern but he was fairly annoyed by the repetitive persuasion of Wingo, he knew if he left the sanctuary he would die by the hands of Hades.
“Enough with the persuasions, I have resolved that it would be best if I settle in this land and die by the will of the daemons” Wingo sighed in frustration, Leon was the only person he can trust his life with for it was he who took care of Wingo when he was still young.
They entered the home of Leon and lit the night lamp and placed it on top of a wooden table, Wingo was relieved to see that he had brought no courtesan into his chamber, it had been the usual situation whenever Wingo was called by Leon to only escort his courtesans back to their home in Athens and Thesally.
“I will get right to the point” Leon gutty voice sounded coarse whenever he speaks in a serious tone “Orio, Selas, Haidee, Juno and Kyra will be arriving soon” Wingo instantly stood up in excitement when he heard about the arrival of his childhood friends and woman he loved ever since they were still young, Haidee.
“It was only a decade ago that they left for Thrace, but why now?” He was curious by the sudden news; he knew that they permanently settled for Thrace because of their disgust of living in Kyprus
“They are coming not for visit, but for answering my call” Wingo reacted questionably to the reply of Leon
“What for Leon?” Wingo replied intently
“We are leaving for Athens and create opportunities for ourselves as we settle in Athens” Wingo’s expression lightened, the smile on his face could even match the joy of Dionysus when he played his music, but his expression changed instantly as he realized what he told him beforehand
“But you said you will settle here until the daemons have finally decided your fate?” As Leon heard his question, he laughed as if he heard the funniest joke in all his lifetime “I doubt any that you have said is true”
“But it is true Wingo, I have been preparing for this day two winters ago” Leon looked happy as he said those words, it may have been a lifetime of agony for him living under the guise of hades’ underlings, waiting for the day when he leaves the sanctuary that is enveloped by Aphrodite and Eros
“This is big news, I will hurry on out and fetch a fattened sheep and we shall feast on it” before Leon could even speak, Wingo went on out to find a farmer that tended sheep’s.
While Wingo was out searching for a fattened sheep, Orio and the others have arrived to the home of Leon. They arrived feeling the nostalgia as they lived in Paphia; the days when they would fight against Leon who trained them in self-defense. When they heard the news that they will move to Athens, they were jumping in joy and immediately went out to harvest and fetch food for the celebration.
Orio and Selas went out to find a bakery to buy some loaves of bread, Juno and Haidee went out to harvest the fruit trees outside Leon’s home and Kyra went out to buy wine barrels. Wingo and the others arrived into Leon’s home as when Nyx has finally risen. They savored the feast and celebrated until Helios rose once again from his rest.
It was noon when the group has finally embarked to Athens, they sailed from the route that Wingo took when he was journeying to Kyprus; from the port of Kyprus to Crete, then Crete to Spartacus and trekked to Athens. As they were trekking to Athens, a group of roaming spirits blocked their path.
“Leon the Thessalonian executioner, Hades has sent us to torment your soul” one of the spirits spoke in a voice of agony
“So I could not escape the curse of my victims” Leon sighed as he withdrew his sword and prepared for battle. Wingo, Orio and Kyra grabbed their weapons as well in preparation for an attack by the spirit.
“Leon of Apollonia, you are no freeman, you are destined to set upon the pits of Tartarus” the voices this time sounded as if they were angry “a weapon made by mortals will not kill us, neither you can kill us, for we have embraced death”
Kyra drew his bow and shot an arrow right after they spoke, the arrow passed through the body of the spirit. The spirit laughed hysterically, pitying the effort of Kyra for doubting their words of caution. One of the spirits flew towards Kyra attempting to take his life, but Juno shifted her horse to the direction of the spirits blocking its’ path to Kyra. In an instant Juno was hit by the rush of the spirits and it vanished, but Juno’s whole body instantly was burnt in hellfire. Juno screamed in pain her scream was loud enough to be heard by the gods above them, her voice that pierced the ears of the group around her, with her skin turning to ash and the spirits once again laughed hysterically.
“Juno!” Kyra shouted in despair as he saw his friend being burnt alive, he then took off and grabbed the shoulder of Juno but the heat was too strong that it instantly burnt of the hand of Kyra and he screamed in agonizing pain not because his hand was burnt off but because he could not save her.
Selas and Haidee also screamed in fear when they saw and heard Juno screaming until her vocal chords was burnt off. Leon, Orio and Wingo bodies boiled in anger when they saw Juno and Kyra suffering from that hellfire, they all jumped into action and try to swing their weapons against the spirit. The spirits pitied their actions but all must be done according to the orders of the god who commanded them.
“Come on, take me already!” Leon shouted “Do not let these kids suffer what I am supposed to suffer”
“Leon if you die, we die with you” Orio angrily said
“I did not raise stubborn children” he exclaimed
One of the spirits rushed directly to Leon while it laughed in agony but Kyra, like Juno did, ran towards the direction of the spirit stopping its rush to Leon and hit him. Then he was instantly burnt by hellfire, he screamed in pain his voice rang the ears of Haidee and Selas. While Kyra was burning another spirit rushed towards Leon this time they were successful on hitting Leon.
“Leon!” the group shouted in despair, Orio tried to rush towards Leon and splash him with their canteen but Wingo grabbed him by the arm as tears fall down the eyes of Wingo.
The spirits vanished right after seeing they have finally accomplished their task. The remaining members of the group were left in shock, they just witnessed the death of the person who acted like their father, and lost whom they considered their sibling.
“Why did you stop me Wingo?” Orio asked angrily while trying to hold back the tears from his eyes “I could have saved him!”
Wingo just stared at him intently and strengthened his grip at Orio’s arm, he was not letting his sadness overthrow his sanity, so that was what he did to Orio. Haidee and Selas were just frozen behind them as their tears flowed down their eyes, it was as if Thanatos took their life as they just stood there. Rain did not pour over the tragic event, it was just like Zeus did not pity how they felt; it was as if no gods protected them or even mourned with them, they felt anguish and wrath.
Wingo stepped down from his horse and knelt down to pick up the ashes of their dead family, he lifted the ashes and placed it next to his chest, the ashes poured and fell to the ground and some were blown away by the wind. Orio stepped beside him and knelt down to the same, the two finally released their tears. They could not accept the loss, in their minds they repeat the event that happened today, their frustration and sadness were battling each other they could not control their sanity, it was grave to them.
“Is there even a god that cares for their people?” Orio choked as he tried to scream what he felt, wanting the power to kill the gods
“The gods do not deserve worship; they deserve fear” Wingo looked towards the direction of Mount Olympus with a heart that burns in anger and the start of Olympus’ slumber.